Go green with solar panels

By Michael Buhler
Sun ad-hoc energy editor
My older cousin Marty has always been cool, someone who I looked up to. When I was 11, he showed me his radiometer, which looked like a light bulb, and had black and white vanes balanced inside. When he brought it near the light, the vanes would spin faster and faster. I then saw the power of light, and that has never escaped me.

Thirty-six years later, I have finally harvested that power of light, installing twelve photo-voltaic “solar” panels on my south-facing garage roof at my house on M-109 between Glen Arbor and Glen Haven. I type these very words on a laptop that was charged by those same solar panels. I feel like an astronaut, living off of the sun’s rays. Yet I am well-grounded, and not particularly fond of going on the roof; but with the fascination of the radiometer alive in my memory, I am both humbled and thrilled that the sun is now powering a portion of my life.
Perhaps it was a life-long journey, or two years of casual research and a bit of social consciousness exerting itself, but I have moved to being more “green” and would like to share that simple process with you, in the unabashed hope that you will save yourself some money, easily conserve some electricity, and hopefully join me in harvesting the sun or the wind for your own green power.
It all comes down to watts
Electrical power is measured in watts, and watts are, by definition, a measure of power. All energy consumed or expended can be measured in watts, from horsepower to BTUs (British thermal units). Each month I receive a bill from Consumers Energy showing how many kilowatts (1,000 watts over one hour) I used for the month, what my average use was per day, and what I’ve used in the past twelve months. My first years in this house, in the early 2000s, I averaged 20 kilowatt hours (KWH) per day. At my current 10 cent per KWH, that was $2 per day of power. And I was perfectly fine with that.
I began to wonder if I could use less power, however. Would compact florescent bulbs make a big difference  even pay for themselves  I pondered. One Saturday morning I walked around my house with a notepad, took a little inventory, and as I sipped my coffee, thought I’d try a few things. I changed five light bulbs from incandescent to florescent; decided to turn off the heated drying in my dishwasher; and a few days before had upgraded my aging tower computer, with its droning fan, to a Mac Mini, that had an on-demand fan (I leave my computer on 24 hours a day). Two months later the results were in: I had knocked 20 percent off my utility bill, and now used 16 KWH per day. Wow.
Over more coffee, I wondered why more people don’t do this?
Smug American that I am, I was quite proud of myself. At this rate, I’d save $146 in the next year (a winter month’s MichCon bill) and reduce my need for fossil fuels. I’m conservative (many would call me a Milliken Republican), and felt like I’d made a good step toward more conservation. This was hardly my first foray. Since my first home, I’ve had an electric lawn mower, leaf blower, weed whacker and snow blower (laugh all you want, but it works!). Why? Because I don’t have to deal with that oil/gas mix, the noise, the smog, and I knew that it was more efficient in the broader picture. The little bit of coal emission to generate that power was much less than what the gasoline engines would have produced.
Still, coal emission is an emission, and I would ponder this with every pass of my electric lawnmower. The electric snow blower makes me wonder why I don’t hire a plow, but that discussion is for another five-degree day.
Water, Wind and Photovoltaics
The next logical step  really, it is a leap  was to take energy independence and green technology into my own hands, and I researched the practical alternatives. The best bang-for-the buck, it turns out, is solar hot water. If you are building a new home, DO THIS. The payback is great. If you’d like to see some in action, visit Cherry Republic. Geo-thermal heating and cooling is another marvelous option, and one I will investigate when my furnace is ready for replacement. However, my largest, most polluting energy consumption at home is my electric power usage, so I decided to take that on.
Wind energy is the better choice, since there is more wind available than sun (remember, the wind blows all day, but the sun does not shine all day), and in Michigan’s unique shoreline monopoly, we actually have the most potential for wind energy electrical generation than any other state. I consulted with forester Daniel Schillenger, and he explained that my trees are 60 feet tall, but will grow to a mature height of 80 feet. That means a 100-foot tower for a windmill. On my 100 x 200-foot lot. With a guyed tower, that would mean cutting down some trees to accommodate the guy wires and a $10,000 cost for the tower. A monopole was closer to $25,000. Clearly, wind is not a good option when you are not in a clearing or on the shoreline.
Photovoltaic (PV energy, usually called “solar”) is typically twice the cost of wind, but not in my case when the tower costs more than my dozen solar panels. So this was the logical choice. I selected my garage roof because of its sun exposure, because it faced due south, would be quiet and unobtrusive to my neighbors, and as a bonus, noticeable to those who drive down M-109. I hired a consultant, and then let him go when I realized that I was designing a better system without him, and his system kept costing 30 percent more than mine. My electrician, Bob Bourne, wanted to learn more, and we both spent extra hours refining our skills and knowledge. Friend Dan Shoup of North Coast Improvements, was more than happy to scale my roof to install the solar panels (remember my roof aversion). Suddenly, I was a general contractor, and I had assembled a crack team of installers who now know the ropes, and we have shared that knowledge with eager-to-learn Leelanau County building and electrical inspectors.
Really, that phase moved quickly.
Then there is the stoic Consumers Energy. It turns out that Michigan requires the electric utilities to buy back the excess generated alternative energy (solar, wind, and hydroelectric) up to a whopping 0.1 percent per year. As you can imagine, the legislation also appears to be written by the utility companies. So, at this juncture I have an “incomplete application” pending and “Engineering will be in touch.”
When we do finalize things, I will have to pay Consumers to sell my excess power back to them for 3 cents per KWH, but will buy that power back for the same 10 cents we all pay.
The beauty of solar-cooled beverages
Remember that I was using 16 KWH per day? I discovered a few more changes, the kind we can all make, and dropped by another 1 KWH (365 kilowatts a year, or $36.50 toward a dinner out). I have a large koi pond in my garden, complete with night lighting, and that has been a part of the equation. It turned out I could reduce the size of my pump, and save more electricity. Yes, one can save energy, and still have ice in the freezer door and koi in the garden. The cuts I’m mentioning won’t lead to a Spartan lifestyle. I can’t fathom that, being a Wolverine.
The other very big change I discovered was in charging transformers. We all have a score or two of small electronic devices that are either powered by or recharge with small transformer cords. In half an hour I found eight of them that were either abandoned or largely unused, and combined use 50 watts of power per hour, even when they are not powering or charging anything. 50 watts x 24 hours x 365 days ÷ 1,000 x 10 cents = $43.80. More dinner money! Add that to the $36.50 from above, and Blu and La Becasse are also options!
Meanwhile, there is a small 50-year-old refrigerator from my grandfather that I keep in the garage with beverages. I have placed a timer on it so that it is free to run during prime solar time, and then two other short periods at night, keeping the beer and pop in the 38-50 degree range. When I’m most likely to drink or serve one of those beverages, they are nicely chilled, because it is, or just was, sunny. I’ve also been shifting energy consumption to the daylight hours, washing clothes, watering the garden, and running the dishwasher during mid-day to take advantage of the PV power. Because of all of these moves, I am now using just 12 KWH per day, with several KWH to spare, waiting to be sold to Consumers Energy. After a grueling solar-powered lawn cutting, it is very satisfying to sit on the porch and drink a solar-cooled beverage, and listen to the solar-powered koi pond waterfall.
Investment vs. Payback
The number one question I’m asked is “how long is the payback period?” The answer: decades. Wind would have had double the bang for my buck, yet wouldn’t work here. And if one views this as a money-making venture, then it may not make sense to him or her. I prefer to think of it as an investment, that I purchased an asset which will appreciate over time, and that pays a small dividend. I see it as akin to investing in a new kitchen or bathroom: my home’s value is higher.
Were you shopping for a home, wouldn’t my solar-assisted arrangement look more attractive than a comparable, conventional home? Especially with no maintenance? How about the fact that there is a bank of batteries in the garage that serves as a backup generator, providing at least 18 hours of reserve power? No expensive, noisy generator, just clean, solar power stored away for a stormy day.
In fact, I’m pledging to always design the Glen Arbor Sun using the batteries and solar power. When Consumers Energy finally takes my excess electricity into The Grid, you can imagine the excess power heading to our printer. In other words, three sunny days can produce and run the presses for the Sun, making it Michigan’s only solar-powered newspaper!
There is MUCH more information at www.glenarbor.us/solar detailing the sizing of the solar system, how the inverter works, the battery arrangement, the calculations, and links to other sources.